North Shore
Great place to visit. Highly recommend going but honestly will next time rent a car or take an Uber and just pay at the park or on line for tickets. We went with buffet and stayed for the show. Things could get hairy at the end because the bus you arrive in may not be the same you head back on. There are multiple buses waiting and you have to ask each driver if they are going to your stop. We were very lucky to hit the right bus on the first try. Need a better system. Great place to visit with kids. Folks there are super friendly.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is a beautiful, fun, living museum. Pacific Island Native people use songs and traditional dances to tell the stories of their culture. They have reverence for the Islands and also have fun showing the beauty and fun of their heritage. We visitors are referred to as “Family”. We are made to feel very welcome and are invited to participate in crafts, dance and games with the Island people. The Buffett and the show are wonderful. Thank you!!!
Tao Luau is the best outstanding food. Staff are friendly and welcoming
Aloha Lee and mahalo for giving us a great review! Glad to know you enjoyed the food we prepared for you and also enjoyed our company. We certainly hope to see you again soon!
While we enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center overall, this day was entirely too long for our taste. There really wasn't much to do at the center to fill up our time, so we just sitting around waiting for the Luau dinner. And, the gift shop is on the other side of the entrance, so we couldn't even shop to kill time, which we would have loved to do.
The Luau was delicious, especially the welcome drink in the pineapple. And, the show was fantastic, but we were tired of being there all day.
So, if you want to waste a full day in paradise with not much to do, then this is the excursion for you.
HAD A GREAT TIME. IT WAS NICE TO LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT CULTURES AT OUR OWN PACE. SPENT THE WHOLE DAY THERE. THE LUAU AND BUFFET WAS STUNNING. THANK YOU FOR A GREAT TIME. THE SHOW WAS ALSO AWESOME.
Amazing hospitality!!! What a wonderful family that just wants to serve. Loved every minute of the dancing and music. Food was delicious and authentic. Thank you for having us.
Aloha and mahalo Mr. and Mrs. Niles for giving us a great review! We are happy to hear that you had a great experience with us and enjoyed every bit of the luau. Good to know you enjoyed the food we prepared for you, hope we'd see you guys soon and enjoy the dancing, music, and performances again!
What a great intimate Polynesian experience! The luau was the highlight of our trip. Our host, Bill, was awesome, as well as Chris, who shared how they cook and serve their traditional meals. Beautiful and exciting dancing. The food was delicious. We really felt the Ohana spirit! Highly recommend!
Aloha Joni and mahalo for giving us a great review. We are happy to know that our luau was the highlight of your trip. Bill, Chris, and everyone at Toa Luau would love to see you guys again soon and enjoy the food and performances the second time around. God Bless!
We had a great time at the Polynesian Cultural Center at all the villages. Having never been there, on the first day, we were not watching the time and when we realized the villages all closed at 5:30.. I think its wonderful to allow the guests to use the tickets for up to three days since the first day. This gave us the opportunity to return and enter the rest of the villages that we didn't have time to see on the first day. We were bummed that the luau, buffet and show were all sold out on both days.
What a fantastic way to learn about the various Polynesian cultures in and around Hawaii. Everyone was friendly. The different areas had different shows to share their culture. Most of the employees are college students from the different Polynesian areas and families. Due to Covid restrictions and timing, we were not able to attend a luau. When we return to Hawaii we will go here again (it is hard to fit it all in, in a day) and also do the luau. This was the best money we spent on the island. I'd give it 10 stars if I could! We prepurchased entry with the Veltra passes and it worked great. Moved right to the front of the line and no worries about getting in.
The Luau was amazing. The surroundings were beautiful. Highly recommend.
Aloha and Mahalo Jeannette for giving us a great review and rating. We are glad you had a great time with us at the luau and enjoyed Waimea Valley. Hope to see you guys again soon!
The PCC was great. The shows from the villages were funny and informative. Each had their own story to tell. The buffet was really good. It’s worth the money and the time. To be able to see things before the buffet I would suggest showing up around 1200 to look at the shops and then go right into the culture center g go if the activities and shows.
This is one of the best place for our teenage children to learn some hands on history of US while vacationing. Dinner Buffet is fresh and delicious. We really enjoy fresh fruits and Poke.
The tour guide was knowledgeable and fun, great way to see the island and the Polynesian center was fun and the show was amazing
Good price, I had a great time at Polynesian culture. Definitely going back.
I can not recommend this enough!! If you are on Oahu it is worth the trip to Waimea Valley. This was my family & I's absolute favorite thing we did in Hawaii! It was incredibly personable, authentic, and overall an amazing luau. They were all very nice and made a point to come to every table and talk with all of the guests. They even went above and beyond by helping the table next to us and walking their baby around in the stroller so that they could eat their dinner. Everyone was in awe at how amazing the crew made this experience for everyone. They were truly enjoying teaching everyone about the Polynesian culture from the Polynesian Islands, and it made the experience that much better. Can not recommend enough! GO GO GO!
Aloha and mahalo Monique for this review! We are so thankful and glad to hear that you had a great time with us and enjoyed the luau, we want to make you feel welcomed and well accommodated and get the chance to enjoy every bit of the luau. We appreciate you guys for coming and hoping we'd see you guys again soon if you ever get to visit the island again!
Beautiful hike to a Waimea Falls. The botanical gardens were beautiful and.full of history too. Easy hike for my kids Got to swim in the lagoon under the falls at the top. I love that they provided life jackets. Once we came down and changed it was off to the luau. We had a great time participating in some of the cultural activities and learning the Polynesian history and culture. Dancing was amazing and food phenomenal. My family really enjoyed it -especially my 11 year old and 15 year old. Highly recommend!!
Aloha, and mahalo for your review! We are especially delighted to know your children had fun at the luau, and we really hope to see you again when you're back in Oahu. God bless you and yours!
fun interactive luau experience. cousin Billy was the funniest ever, we enjoyed our first luau with very friendly staff and night full of culture experiences.
Aloha and mahalo for your review! We'll be sure to tell Cousin Billy you left him a review - we find him to be engaging and hilarious too! ^_^
We were initially skeptical of going to any Luau after a previous experience we had on Maui. We were concerned it would feel like a crowded dinner show instead of an authentic experience. We live on Oahu and had guests who really wanted to go. Tao Luau appealed to us because Waimea Falls is a beautiful setting away from resorts, and it has way less occupancy for the event then the others (200 compared to up to 800!). We were pleasantly surprised at the warm welcome, hands on experience, delicious dinner, and stunning show. We have visitors coming in a week, and more in the summer, and have already booked for two more times!
Aloha Heidi, and mahalo for your review! We are pleased to know you had a great experience at the luau, which was initially not what you thought it was. We are glad we have changed your mind about activities like ours. We have planned everything about the luau having one goal - make it a great experience for everybody. Come see us again when you can :-) Mahalo!
I lived on Oahu, and have attended many of the popular, industrial, Luaus on the island. Due to Covid, most were closed, so we went with Waimea Valley Toa Luau. I can say it was by far the most intermate, and authentic luau I've ever been to. The "cheaper" tickets still have a great, elevated view. The members/staff/performers are all family and the demonstrations they have are authentic to their history. With the admission to Waimea valley included, you can easily make an entire day of exploring the valley and concluding with the Luau. It truly felt like a family cookout (which is the true spirit of a luau) and not an assembly line of people and mediocre food (as most other industrial luaus are). Homemade coco drink, and no less than 5 fire throwers at once, put Waimea Valley Toa Luau over the top for me. Also, not a coconut bra in sight...
Aloha and mahalo for your review! We are very glad to know you had a marvelous time at the luau! We hope to see you again ^_^
Last year, during our honeymoon trip to Hawaii, we participated in this tour. With guidance from a Japanese university student studying abroad, we explored the vast grounds and engaged in activities, allowing us to directly experience Polynesian culture. My husband was also able to join a dance event along the way, and it was truly enjoyable.
昨年新婚旅行でハワイに行った際にこちらのツアーに参加しました。
留学中の日本人大学生ガイドさんによるご案内で広大な園内を散策しながらアクティビティーに参加し直にポリネシア文化に触れる事が出来ました。
旦那も途中でダンスイベントに参加することが出来て本当に楽しかった。
Everything was great. Tour guides were so cute and had so much knowledge. Each island was very entertaining. Even though it rained heavily most of the day it didn't dampen the experience. The ending pageant was fabulous. We were a little disappointed in the luau but still very entertaining. Definitely something we would do again. Waited 45 married years to get to Hawaii and see this event.
I upgraded to the ambassador package and this allowed More time to check out the exciting performances. Chesser made our tour fun and interesting. Had a great overall experience visiting for the first time. Really enjoyed the HA theatrical performance with the amazing fire dancers.
Polynesian center was amazing. Had a private group tour which took us through the best activities of a few islands. Was not able to see all of the islands like the itinerary stated there just want time. Luau and fire show was included. Also with this package the Polynesian center will give you an additional 3 day pass to
Come back and see anything you missed. Highly recommend!
There was a Japanese guide, and we were able to tour the facilities smoothly. However, there is something disappointing. We were made to have lunch at 1 PM, and dinner was at 4 PM. We were not informed about this in advance...
日本人の案内人がいて、スムーズに施設を見学することができました。
しかし、残念な事があります。13時に昼食を取らされて、夕食は16時にされてしまいました。そんなことは、事前に知らせていませんでしたが…
This activity is AMAZING! My children who were 12 and 9 at the time, had such a good time learning about the different cultures. It was almost set up like a theme park where there were various places and activities to be apart of. The grounds are breathtakingly beautiful. There's so much to see and do, you will literally spend ALL DAY there!
Highly recommend to use your 3 day pass. So much to do! Not enough time to do in one day. Enjoyed the hands on activities, dancing, and food. No matter where you sit for the luau you have an amazing view. Our tour guide was amazing and we met wonderful people.
What an amazing day, full of many unique experiences and very friendly staff.
It started with a great host on the bus ride to the centre. He was funny, informative and well spoken. The day continued with our guide throughout the centre. I recommend paying for the Ambassador experience. It is worth the extra dollars to ensure you make all the shows on time.
The feast we had for dinner was excellent quality and ample. There was the opportunity to eat seconds and thirds if you wanted.
The final show the breath of life was an amazing display. I would have been satisfied with just that show and dinner.
I will be recommending this experience to my family and friends.
From the time we were greeted to the final good byes it was a perfect day. everyone was so kind and gracious. Our guide Raff was outstanding and is considered ohana to us. He was very knowledgeable and took care of us so well we didn't want the day to end.
Next time we return to Hawaii we will come back to Polynesian Cultural Center.
Thank you for a wonderful experience.
This was an amazing experience and totally worth the ticket. I ended up upgrading to a guided tour which was nice in some ways because they helped me navigate the exhibits and get places but I wasn’t able to see everything I wanted to so maybe not for everyone. Overall a great experience though!
We had an incredible guide for the whole day. The extra cost was worth being able to see most of PCC in a day with lots of information about each area! We had no stress as the guide got us around the park in a very well planned fashion. Even with the PCC app we would not have done all that we did if we were on our own without a guide.